Posted 4/4/2016 2:55 PM (GMT 0)
Hi mylifeinflight77,
It is definitely an adjustment and I can't say that it is always easy and everyone is different/finds different ways to deal. Personally I found it best to have at least one coworker that I could discuss what was going on with. Being open about my condition lessened the stress a bit because if i was having a bad day I could tell them which helped with the stress by not hiding my illness because that stress just makes it worse. I usually made my boss aware if I was having trouble so that there was an understanding if I missed days what the cause was. Not everyone feels comfortable with this and it really depends on your situation. If you are diagnosed with crohns, you need to make sure you are well educated so that you can properly convey your situation to coworkers, etc.
not missing days comes down to getting as much sleep as possible and getting on medication as soon as possible.
I had a period of at least 4 months where I was working part time and going to college and I was vomiting multiple times a day on top of having a fistula that needed constant attention. I once had to excuse myself from a class I was helping to teach because I had to throw up and then go back to helping teach the class. You need to know when it's best to just take a rest which is the hardest thing to do when you don't want to miss work but it's the best for you in the long run and I wish I had done more of that. We all fear not being able to function, some of us including myself go through periods where we can't but if you get on the right medication and take care of yourself you should be able to. I had a boss several years ago whose friend was a surgeon at a major hospital and had crohns. She said he took periodic vacations so that he could rest but other than that he was great at his job. We can't all expect to have that experience but it is encouraging.